The coronavirus pandemic brings with it an arc of uncertainty that stretches far into the horizon. There are four foci that can help leaders provide steady steering in a difficult time: objectives, capabilities intactness, and normalcy. These foci highlight three challenges leaders face in this crisis; how to steer the enterprise, how to keep it cohesive, and how to provide it with goals.

This article describes our understanding of higher education institutions in sharp contrast to for-profit corporations. We emphasize, in particular, the “loosely coupled” structure of a university, its “church-state” character, and the proliferation of subunits that amplifies this structure and character in ways that pose unique challenges to leadership. view »

When considering cause and effect, we frequently engage in "one-step thinking." Backcasting is a technique that can help us see both the forest and the trees. Published in the Rotman Magazine, Winter 2011 view »

This article describes our understanding of higher education institutions in sharp contrast to for-profit corporations. We emphasize the "loosely coupled" structure of a university, its "church-state" character, and the subunits that amplify this structure and character in ways that pose unique challenges to leadership. We also briefly review some significant pressures that colleges and universities face and describe a number of leadership strategies. view »

This article describes our understanding of the academic medical center contrasted sharply with a for-profit corporation. We emphasize its "loosely coupled" structure, its "church-state" character and the sub-units that amplify this structure and character in ways that pose unique challenges to leadership. We also briefly review some significant pressures that academic medical centers face and describe a number of leadership strategies. view »

A challenge faced in envisioning a goal is the difficulty imagining the conditions that have to be true in the future if the goal is to be met. How can we fully envision the texture of such a future state? What are the conditions that need to be in place in order to accomplish the goal? The backcast helps guide in building a detailed action plan that illuminates obstacles and details accomplishments and the steps needed to achieve them. Published in OD Practitioner, Vol. 29, No. 4, Fall 2007. view »